He attributed his early interest in chemistry to the influence of his brother Robert R. Williams, eight years his senior, who was also a chemist.

After a year of teaching, he decided to return to school and began graduate work at the University of Chicago, from which he received his Ph.D. in 1919.

This approach was successful in leading to the discovery of pantothenic acid, published in 1933, which prompted renewed interest among biochemists in microbial metabolism.

Williams and Snell, along with student Herschel K. Mitchell, isolated and named folic acid by extracting it from four tons of processed spinach.

[1] Throughout his career Williams was a prolific writer, producing not only hundreds of scientific papers but also a number of widely used textbooks.

[2] Roger Williams devoted much of his later years to educating the public about the benefits of complete and proper nutrition to good health.

Williams married his high school sweetheart Hazel Elizabeth Wood in 1916 during his stint teaching in California.